Dr. Larry Weiss, most recently Head of School at St. Ann’s, has been named to that position at Brooklyn Friends School. In a statement posted on its website, Alice Pope and Karen Robinson co-chairs of the schools Board of Trustees say:
Here at the start of the 21st century, Brooklyn Friends is poised to begin a new chapter in the school’s long and distinguished history: now more than ever, the values-based education we offer is a cherished commodity, a beacon of light in uncertain times. Larry understands this. He has a genuine love and respect for our school that took root when he began his teaching career here in the 1970s. Brooklyn Friends is the foundation on which Larry’s illustrious career sits—it is here that he discovered his deep commitment to progressive education and to Quaker values.
When we concluded the search, Larry told us, “I couldn’t be happier about the prospect of returning to Brooklyn Friends School. This community is a truly diverse one, and I believe that is critical to the school’s success. Bob Smith, former Headmaster of Sidwell Friends School speaks my mind in A Quaker Book of Wisdom when he writes, ‘I think it’s significant that a Friends School is always consciously striving to become a better school community—a process everyone is aware of and involved with. This is an exciting and contagious environment for students, teachers, and parents. One key component is maintaining or increasing diversity—racial, religious, and economic—in the student body and faculty. Without input from people of differing life experiences and culture, a school quickly becomes insular and stagnant.’”
Weiss announced that he would leave St. Ann’s at the end of 2009 in September.
